Board game

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a strategy and/or educational board game in which 2-4 players distribute game pieces, e.g., marbles or other tokens, according to a particular sequence among a common field of play, with the object of the game being to be the first player to collect a predetermined number of game pieces in a “home” location. Each player is assigned a single home location for their exclusive use; the remainder of the field of play is commonly shared by all players. In a preferred embodiment, a spinner is spun by each player, with the spinner stopping and pointing at a number or graphic. The player must locate the same number or graphic on the field of play to identify the starting point for a move. Once the number or graphic is located, game pieces sitting in a well associated with the number or graphic are picked up by the player, and the player chooses movement in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. The user then distributes the game pieces, one-by-one, in each well encountered in the selected direction. The game pieces are not associated with any player, that is, all of the same pieces are usable by all of the players when the pieces are in play.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/663,183, filed Mar. 17, 2005, the contents of whichis fully incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to strategic and/or educational games and, moreparticularly, to strategic and/or educational games played on a boardaround which tokens are placed and moves are directed by players basedon the use designating device such as a spinner.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are large numbers of strategic and/or educational board games onthe market today. Each game offers its own unique strategies and/orteaches users certain things in a unique way. One example of a knownboard game is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,696 to Nielsen. In the gameof Nielsen, each player has an assigned row (e.g., in a four-personversion there are four parallel rows, each of a different color, witheach player being assigned a different row/color), and the player useshis or her assigned row as his or her field of play during the game.Chips are moved around the field of play, with movement of chips by aparticular player being restricted to their own field of play. The gameends when one of the players has moved their chips in such a manner thatthey have filled their “home bonus member” with chips.

It is an object of the present invention to improve upon existingstrategy and/or educational games by creating a strategy/educationalboard game with a unique field of play and set of rules that improvescounting skills, matching skills, and strategic thinking skills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a strategy and/or educational board game inwhich 2-4 players distribute game pieces, e.g., marbles or other tokens,according to a particular sequence among a common field of play, withthe object of the game being to be the first player to collect apredetermined number of game pieces in a “home” location. Each player isassigned a single home location for their exclusive use; the remainderof the field of play is commonly shared by all players and comprises aplurality of pathway locations between the home locations. In apreferred embodiment, a move designator, e.g., a spinner, is activatedby each player, with the designator identifying a particular number orgraphic. The player must locate the same number or graphic on the fieldof play to identify the starting point for a move. Once the number orgraphic is located, game pieces sitting in a well associated with thenumber or graphic are picked up by the player, and the player choosesmovement in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. The userthen distributes the game pieces, one-by-one, in each well encounteredin the selected direction. The game pieces are not associated with anyplayer, that is, all of the same pieces are usable by all of the playerswhen the pieces are in play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of an example of a game board in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 2 a illustrates the game base used in connection with the gameillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 b illustrates the game top in more detail;

FIG. 2 c illustrates the mounting pegs which extend downward from thegame top; and

FIGS. 3-7 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the game board of thepresent invention during use by a field of 4 players, showing thesituation on the game board after a series of plays by the 4 players.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a top view of an example of a game board in accordance withthe present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a game board 100 includesfour home corner-wells 102, 104, 106, and 108. Situated between the homecorner wells are pathways 110, 112, 114, and 116, which in combinationform a single common field of play for use by all players during thecourse of a game. In a preferred embodiment, the pathways comprisetwenty pathway wells, five per pathway, as shown. In this example, thepathway wells are given sequential designations, e.g., numbers, whichare visible to the players, e.g., pathway wells 1-5 make up pathway 110,pathway wells 6-10 make up pathway 112, pathway wells 11-15 make uppathway 114, and pathway wells 16-20 make up pathway 116. Similarly, thehome corner-wells 102, 104, 106, and 108 are given unique designationsvisible to the players, e.g., colors in this example. Thus, in theexample of FIG. 1, home corner-well 102 is colored blue, homecorner-well 104 is colored red, home corner-well 106 is colored yellow,and home corner-well 108 is colored green.

In a preferred embodiment the home corner-wells and pathway wells areconstructed to have walls so that game pieces, e.g., marbles, can beplaced in them and be contained within the wells. As described in moredetail below, during play the pathway wells may be filled with tokens toa point where the designations marked inside the wells are obstructed;accordingly, in a preferred embodiment, graphic aids corresponding tothe pathway well designations (see graphic aid 118, typical) areprovided outside of the pathways to assist players in locatingparticular pathway wells during game play.

A spinner 120 is situated at the center of board 100. Spinner 120provides a mechanism to direct the actions of players during game play,as described in more detail below. Spinner 120 is a standard spinningdevice commonly found in board games and includes a spin designator thatis spinnable by a player to cause it to spin about a center axis. Thespin designator is centered within a spinner dial in a well-knownmanner. The spinner dial is divided into a number of sections equal tothe number of pathway wells being used in the game; in the example ofFIG. 1 there are 20 sections as shown, one each corresponding to one ofthe pathway wells. It is understood that although a spinner is thepreferred way of designating moves, other designation methods, e.g.,dice, electronic selection devices, etc., may be used and still fallwithin the scope of the claimed invention.

The game board described above and shown in FIG. 1 illustrates anexample of one graphical configuration that can be used for the game ofthe present invention. By constructing the game board as a two piecestructure as illustrated in FIGS. 2 a-2 c, an unlimited number ofgraphical configurations are available, so that instead of using numbersas the designations in the pathway wells, images, shapes, letters,phonetic teaching aids, photographs, etc., and combinations thereof, maybe utilized to allow for variations. This allows the game to becustomized to meet the interests of the players, so that, for example, agame with a sports theme could be played, and then another theme, e.g.,animals, could be utilized for a subsequent game.

Referring to FIGS. 2 a -2 c, a game base 202 contains the graphics thatwill be used during game play. Preferably the game base 202 isconstructed of cardboard or other flexible, durable and inexpensivematerial, since there will be many different graphical game bases usedand thus having them be inexpensive is preferred. The game base used inconnection with the game illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2 a. Ascan be seen, the graphic images of the game board 100 of FIG. 1 appearon game base 202 (e.g., the number designations in the pathway wells,the color designations for the home corner-wells, the graphic aids 118,the spinner dial, etc.). Holes 204 are punched through game base 202 atlocations that correspond to the locations of mounting pegs 208 that areintegral with game top 206, both of which are described in more detailbelow.

Game top 206 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2 b. As can be seen in FIG.2 b, game top 206 defines the home corner-wells and pathway wells. Eachpathway well is defined by a rectangular “box” having wells and open onthe top. A clear plastic bottom can be provided for the bottom of thewell; alternatively, the bottom can remain open, so that the game baseperforms the function of providing a well bottom. Each home corner-wellis defined by a circular, walled area, also open on top. In a preferredembodiment, both the pathway wells and home corner-wells have plasticbottoms and game top 206 is constructed of clear plastic so that thegraphic images on game base 202 are visible therethrough.

As described in the explanation of game play herein, the object of thegame is to be the first player to have ten tokens placed in thatplayer's home corner-well. In a preferred embodiment, the game tokensused are marbles. Further, in the preferred embodiment, the homecorner-wells can have ten dimpled depressions distributed within thehome corner-well so that, when marbles are placed in the homecorner-well, the marbles will sit in the dimpled depressions withoutmovement, making it easier to see how many are contained in the homecorner-well and how many marbles are missing.

Game top 206 includes the previously-mentioned mounting pegs 208, whichextend downward from the game top 206 as best seen in FIG. 2 c. Mountingpegs 208 can be extruded plastic and can include a “spear-head” designto enable the game base 202 to be held in place when mated with game top206 but still be removable due to the flexible nature of the material ofwhich the game base 202 is constructed. It is understood that any meansfor mounting a base to a top can be used (e.g., Velcro, threaded pegswith matching nuts, magnets, forming a lip on the game top and a matingportion on the game bottom similar to the sealing mechanism forTupperware®, etc.) and still fall within the scope of the presentinvention.

As can best be seen in FIG. 2 c, the mounting pegs 208 align with holes204 such that game base 202 can be placed on mounting pegs 208, therebyholding the game base in place and aligning the graphical images on gamebase 202 with the appropriate elements of game top 206. Because the gamebase 202 is easily removable and replaceable, different game bases 202,with different graphics, themes, etc. can be used to change the theme ofthe game.

The rules and object of the game will now be described. In a preferredembodiment, the game can be played with four, three, or two players, andthere is no change to the game board design, set up, or rules of playfor four, three, or two players. With appropriate modifications to thegame board (e.g., adding additional “home” areas for each additionalplayer), more than four players could play the game. The object of thegame is to be the first player to collect ten tokens in their own homecorner-well. If desired, once a first person has collected ten tokens tobecome the first-place winner, play can continue to determine second andthird place winners; alternatively, the game can be terminated and a newgame can then be started.

To set the game up five tokens are placed in every other pathway well,starting with any pathway well. In the example of FIGS. 1 and 2 a-2 c,since there are twenty pathway wells, 50 tokens are required. When setupis complete, there will be ten empty pathway wells and ten pathway wellseach of which contain five tokens. All of the home corner-wells areempty at this point.

Each player selects one of the home corner-wells as their home well, andeach player positions themselves next to their home well during the playof the game. Any one of the players then spins the spin designator,which must complete at least one full rotation. When the spin designatorstops spinning, the arrow point of the spin designator will face adirection. The player whose home well is closest to the position towhich the arrow points is the player who begins play. If the arrow pointof the spinner points to a point exactly between two home corner-wells,a player spins the spin designator again, until a first player isselected. With respect to the players and their respective turns, playwill proceed clockwise, beginning with the first player as selected bythe spinning process.

To begin game play, the player selected to go first spins the spindesignator, and it will stop on a particular position on the spinnerdial, in this example, one of the numbers from 1-20. If the spindesignator stops on a line between two positions on the spinner dial andit thus cannot be determined on which position it landed, the playerspins again until the pointer arrow clearly lands on a discrete positionon the spinner dial. The player then matches up the symbol (the numberin this example) designated by the spin position and the correspondingsymbol on a pathway well. For example, if the spinner stops on thenumber 4, then the player locates the pathway well bearing the graphicof the number 4.

If there are no tokens in the pathway well corresponding to the spin,the player's turn is over and play moves clockwise to the next player.However, if there are tokens in the pathway well corresponding to thespin, the player's turn continues, as follows. First, the player picksup all the tokens in that pathway well, and then they begin depositingtokens, one at a time, in the direction of the player's choice(clockwise or counterclockwise). The player deposits one token in eachnext pathway well, and if as they are depositing the tokens theyencounter their own home corner-well, then they also deposit a tokeninto their home corner-well. The home corner-wells of other players areskipped during this counting process. The player continues depositingthe tokens in the selected direction until all of the tokens have beendeposited. If the last token deposited by a player during his or herturn is deposited into his or her home corner-well, the player's turn isover and play moves to the next player. Similarly, when a playerdeposits his or her last token in an empty pathway well, their turn isover. However, when a player deposits the last token into a pathway wellcontaining at least one token, the play continues. Specifically, theplayer picks up all of the tokens in that last pathway well andcontinues depositing tokens, one by one, in subsequent pathway wellsand/or their own home corner-well, moving in the same direction asinitially selected. This process continues until the player deposits hisor her last token into an empty pathway well or into their own homecorner-well.

Player 2 (and all subsequent players) execute the game play in exactlythe same manner, that is, by spinning the spin designator, and if thereare any tokens in the designated pathway-well, selecting a direction(clockwise or counter-clockwise) and depositing tokens, one by one, inpathway wells and/or their own home corner-well as they are encountered.As noted above, play continues in this manner until one player has tentokens in their home corner-well; at that point they are declared thewinner of the game.

FIGS. 3-7 are used to illustrate an example of one full round (Players1-4) of gameplay in accordance with the present invention. Referringfirst to FIG. 3, Player 1 is assigned to the blue home corner-well,Player 2 is assigned to the red home corner-well, Player 3 is assignedto the yellow home corner-well, and Player 4 is assigned to the greencorner-well. In the example of FIGS. 3-7, the corner wells are shownwith the previously-described dimples (the ten circles in each cornerwell) which serve as a resting place for marbles placed in the cornerwells. As described above, the board is set up with five tokens, in thisexample marbles, in every other pathway well. The marbles appear assmaller black circles in FIG. 3-7. Thus, as can be seen, there are fivemarbles each in pathway wells 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19. Atthis point there are no marbles in any of the home corner-wells.

In this example, assume Player 1 has been designated to begin play.Player 1 spins the spin designator and it lands on number 15. Player 1looks at the board and decides in which direction they will begin todeposit marbles. In this example, assume Player 1 decides to move in aclockwise direction. Player 1 removes the five marbles from pathway well15 and deposits one each in playing wells 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Sincepathway well 20, where the last marble is deposited, is empty, Player1's turn ceases and play moves to Player 2. When this play is finishedthe pieces on the game board are situated as shown in FIG. 4.

Next, Player 2 spins the spin designator and it lands on number 18.Player 2 picks up all the marbles in pathway well 18 (one marble) anddetermines which direction to begin depositing marbles. In this example,Player 2 decides to move in a clockwise direction. Strategically, ifPlayer 2 looks ahead, they will note that by moving in the clockwisedirection they are going to be able to eventually, as described herein,deposit a marble in their own home corner-well, the red homecorner-well. Thus, Player 2 deposits the single marble from pathway well18 into pathway well 19, resulting in a total of seven marbles inpathway well 19.

Following the rules of the game, Player 2 then picks up all sevenmarbles in pathway well 19 and deposits one each in pathway wells 20, 1,2, 3, 4, 5, and then, since the red home corner-well belongs to Player2, they are able to place a single marble in red home corner-well 104.At the completion of Player 2's play, the board is situated as shown inFIG. 5.

According to the rules of the game, if the player's last marble isdropped in their home corner-well, their play is complete for that turnand play proceeds to the next player, in this example, Player 3. Player3 spins the spin designator and it lands on number 19. Since there areno marbles in pathway well 19, Player 3's turn is over and the turnproceeds to Player 4. At this point, the board is situated as shown inFIG. 6.

Next, Player 4 spins the spin designator and it lands on number 4.Player 4 picks up all of the marbles in pathway well 4 (one marble) anddetermines which direction they will move. In this example, Player 4decides to move in a counter-clockwise direction, and deposits thesingle marble in pathway well 3, bringing the total number of marbles inpathway well 3 up to seven. Player 4 picks up all seven marbles inpathway well 3 and drops them in pathway wells 2, 1, 20, 19, 18, 17, andthe last marble in pathway well 16. Since pathway well 16 was not empty,Player 4 picks up the two marbles now in pathway well 16, places one intheir home corner-well 108 and the next in pathway well 15. Sincepathway well 15 is empty, Player 4's turn is complete. At the completionof Player 4's play, the board is situated as shown in FIG. 7. Theprocess then goes back to Player 1 and continues as described until oneplayer has ten marbles in their own home corner-well.

Numerous variations to the above-described game are contemplated. Asnoted above, virtually any theme can be used for the game base 202,including educational themes, sports themes, animal themes, and thelike. Further, although the game board illustrated in the figures issquare, it is understood that the pathways can be rounded and/or othershapes can be used and still fall within the claimed invention.

Although the game base illustrated in FIG. 2A is shown as having thespin designator fixedly attached thereto, it is contemplated that, ifdesired, the spin designator can be detachable from the game base, toreduce the cost of creating game bases. In such an event, an uprightpost can be provided with the game base on which to place the spindesignator; other methods of attaching a spin designator to the gamebase will be apparent to a designer of ordinary skill in the art.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to aspecific preferred embodiment thereof, various changes and modificationsmay be suggested to one skilled in the art and it is intended that thepresent invention encompass such changes and modifications as fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for playing a strategic board game wherein the game isplayed by two or more players on a game board having a home location foreach player and having a common field of play shared by all players,said field of play including plural pathway locations situated betweensaid home locations, and further having multiple game piecespositionable within said home locations and said pathway locations, andfurther including a move designator activated by each player, in turn,to identify a starting position among said plural pathway locations forbeginning a move, said method comprising the steps of: allowing eachplayer to be an active player when it is their turn to play; having theactive player activate the move designator to identify a starting pointfor a move to begin a turn; having the active player observe saidstarting point to determine a quantity of said game pieces located atsaid starting point; if there are no game pieces located at saidstarting point, terminating the active player's turn and allowing a nextplayer to begin their turn as the active player; if there are gamepieces located at said starting point, having the active player select adirection for movement and then, one by one, beginning with a pathwaylocation adjacent to said starting point in the selected direction ofplay, placing said game pieces in successive pathway locations untilsaid game pieces being deposited are depleted; if the last of said gamepieces removed from the starting position is deposited in a pathwaylocation that was empty at the time of deposit, terminating the activeplayer's turn; if the last of the game pieces removed from the startingposition is deposited in a pathway location containing game pieces atthe time of the deposit, having the active player pick up said gamepieces and continue to deposit said game pieces, one by one, in thepathway locations in the selected direction; if said active player'shome location is encountered along the path of deposit, having theactive player place a game piece in said active player's home location;if a non-active player's home location is encountered along the path ofdeposit, having the active player skip over the non-active player's homelocation; if a last of the game pieces being deposited is deposited inthe active player's home location, terminating the active player's.
 2. Agame apparatus comprising: a home location for each player of said game;a field of play comprising plural pathway locations serially connectingeach of said home locations; multiple game pieces positionable withinsaid home locations and said pathway locations; a move designatoridentifying a starting position among said pathway locations forbeginning a move, whereby each of said pathway locations is identifiedby a graphical pathway image, and wherein said move designatordesignates a graphical designation image corresponding to one of saidgraphical pathway images, thereby identifying said starting position forbeginning a move.
 3. The game apparatus of claim 2, whereby said movedesignator includes a pool of graphical designator images from whichsaid selection is made, each of said graphical designator imagescorresponding to a graphical pathway image positioned within each ofsaid pathway locations.
 4. The game apparatus of claim 3, wherein saidgraphical designator images and said graphical pathway images comprisesequential numbers.
 5. The game apparatus of claim 3, wherein saidgraphical designator images and said graphical pathway images compriseparticular shapes.
 6. The game apparatus of claim 3, wherein saidgraphical designator images and said graphical pathway images compriseparticular pictures.
 7. The game apparatus of claim 2, wherein saidapparatus comprises: a game base on which is printed all graphicaldesignator images and all graphical pathway images used on saidapparatus; and a game top defining said home locations and said pathwaylocations.
 8. The game apparatus of claim 7, wherein said game topdefines four home locations, and wherein said home locations arecircular in shape.
 9. The game apparatus of claim 8, wherein saidpathway locations are generally rectangular in shape.
 10. The gameapparatus of claim 9, wherein said home locations and said pathwaylocations each comprise well-shaped areas having walls to contain gamepieces placed therein.
 11. The game apparatus of claim 7, wherein saidgame base is detachable from said game top.